The Fighting Irish will face No. 3 seed Ohio State in a second-round matchup on Monday in Columbus, with the winner advancing to the Sweet Sixteen next weekend in Fort Worth.
Hidalgo was adept at all aspects of the game, flirting with a quadruple double. The guard finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and six assists to lead the Irish to a win over the Stags.
Ianna Moore was the second leading scorer in the contest, finishing with 18 points on the afternoon.
Cassandre Prosper also had a big game, scoring 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. These 17 points are the most points scored by a senior in an NCAA Tournament game in his career.
How did this happened?
The Irish jumped out to a five-point lead in the first 10 minutes of action and led 17-12 at the end of the first quarter. Notre Dame scored eight of the first 10 points on two buckets each from Hidalgo and Prosper. Hidalgo took the offensive momentum with seven points in the first frame.
Notre Dame immediately expanded its lead to double digits, scoring seven of the first eight points of the second period to make the score 24–13 with just over 7 minutes left in the half.
Fairfield managed to cut the Irish lead to seven at 29–22 with 2 minutes left in the half, but Notre Dame scored seven of the last nine points to take a 36–24 lead at the halftime intermission.
Hidalgo had 13 points, seven rebounds, five steals and five assists at the break. Moore also helped carry the offensive load with 10 points.
The Fighting Irish took complete control of the game in the first 5 minutes of the third quarter, outscoring the Stags 11–2 to take a 21-point lead at 47–36. Notre Dame led by 23 points in the third quarter (54–31) and led by 19 points in the final 10 minutes of the game, 62–43.
The Irish and Stags both scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and Notre Dame won 79–60 to advance to the tournament.
Notre Dame state of play
The Irish dominated down low and outshot the Stags 44-22 in points in the paint.
notre dame notes
- Notre Dame improves to 76–28 in the NCAA Tournament in program history, including a 27–4 mark in first-round contests.
- The Irish improved to 2–0 against Fairfield in the all-time series.
- With eight steals, Hidalgo passed Don Staley (454) for second place in the ACC record book for career steals, as Hidalgo now has 460 in his career.
- Hidalgo’s eight steals are a program record for steals in an NCAA Tournament game.
- Hidalgo has scored 20 or more points in eight straight games, marking the third time in his career he has recorded at least eight straight games with 20+ points.
- With 23 points, Hidalgo has scored 20+ points in 26 games this season and 77 games in his career, which is a program record.
- Hidalgo has finished in double figures in the scoring column in all 100 games of his career, the longest streak in program history and the longest active streak in the country.
- Hidalgo is one of five players this century to post multiple NCAA Tournament games of at least 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
- Moore moved into the top five in program history for three pointers made in a season with 77.
- Moore hit four shots from beyond the arc and has accomplished the feat 11 times this season.
answer next
The Irish will face the No. 3-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a spot in the Sweet 16 on Monday, March 23, inside the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. The game will air on one of the ESPN family of networks.
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